1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circular horizontal rotating table filter, and, more specifically, is concerned with a modular device designed to facilitate the installation and replacement of filtration textiles thereon.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Circular horizontal rotating table filters are known in the art. As shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,375 to Lee, which is incorporated herein by reference, a table filter has radial vertical partitions subdividing it into sector-shaped individual filtration chambers adjoining one another around a central hub portion, or center island portion, which is part of the rotating table structure. The table filter, as a whole, may have a diameter in the range from 15 feet to 25 feet.
It should be understood that in a conventional table filter, the mounting of the sector-shaped filter media comprises the so-called divider strips or channel members extending radially along, and supported by, the horizontal top faces of respective radial partitions. The inner ends and the outer ends of the divider strips are interconnected respectively by inner and outer arcuate channel members, the inner channel members hugging the center island portion, or center island, the outer channel members following the curvature of the peripheral boundary wall of the filter table. A sector-shaped channel frame thus defines the boundary of each effective sector-shaped filter area, with the filter media itself edgewise secured in this channel frame. Corresponding sector-shaped perforated backing plates or panels usually support the filter media, and are in turn supported by rigid grid structures and ledges provided in the respective filtration chambers. There may be a total of twenty (20) such sector-shaped filter areas making up the entire table filter. That is to say, the circular table filter may be divided into twenty sector-shaped filter areas.
The present application is concerned with the replacement, when necessary, of the filter media itself. At present, to carry out such replacement, the entire table filter must be isolated for a considerable length of time, while the filter media in all or several of the sector-shaped filter areas are replaced. In each filter area, as noted above, the filter medium is held edgewise within a channel which extends around the periphery thereof. The filter medium is secured in a taut fashion within each filter area by means of caulking ropes, which must be driven manually into the peripheral channel. This is a labor-intensive operation, usually accomplished by hand-hammering the caulking ropes into the channels, which requires many hours, during which, of course, the table filter may not be used.
The present invention has as an object to reduce this production down time, while the filter media are being replaced. At the same time, a secondary or concomitant object is to avoid the significant potential risk to operator injury which accompanies the replacement of the filter media by the method presently used.